The schedule
Facilities on a shared run receive packages in scheduled batches through the night. The run leaves the working group in the early evening and arrives at the facility during the hours when its link is least busy. A batch that misses its run waits for the next one, which is usually two nights later. Nothing is moved during working hours, and nothing is moved on a night when a session is still being logged.
- Batches are planned on Monday for the coming week.
- Each batch is one collection, or part of one if it is larger than 900 GB.
- The plan lists the sessions by reference and the total size.
- Packages are assembled on the day of the run.
- Checksum files are verified against the audio before packing.
- A package that fails verification is held back and noted in the log.
- The receiving facility confirms each package by its checksum file.
- A confirmed batch is recorded in the index with its date.
Package layout
Every package has the same folder layout as the master store. Session folders sit under a collection folder, and each collection folder carries its index file at the top. Working copies are not included in packages, because they can be made again from the masters at any time, and including them would double the size of every run.
Facilities that need a different layout receive a note with the batch plan. The note says which folders have been merged or renamed, so the receiving side can rebuild the catalogue references.
What to plan for
A single collection can be several hundred gigabytes, and a full-day set can exceed one terabyte. Receiving storage should be sized for the largest batch in the plan, plus room for the checksum pass. The formats page gives the storage per hour for each channel count, which is the quickest way to estimate a batch before it is planned.